The Kentucky state legislature hasn’t included a black woman in its ranks for nearly two decades. While this statistic may be somewhat alarming, you can take solace in the fact that that streak has officially been broken.

Attica Scott, a local community leader, won the Kentucky Democratic Primary on May 17 and will head straight to the Kentucky House in January with no Republican competition, according to Huffington Post.

“It feels amazing to be the first Black women in almost two decades to be elected to the legislature in Frankfort — that’s huge,”Scott said, according to NBC. “I’m representing a district that is 50 percent Black and 50 percent white so that says that people across the district regardless of race believed in my leadership and also knew it was time for a new voice and a fresh face.”

Scott’s Democratic Primary victory came over longtime seat-holder, Tom Riner (D), who served for 34 years but only held 31 percent of the vote from Kentucky’s 41st district. Scott walked away with 54 percent.

“During the campaign it was really about highlighting that we needed a new voice and a fresh face in Frankfurt. We had this 34-year incumbent who was anti-LGBT and anti-women’s rights. He was a Democrat in name only and refused to caucus with the Democrats since the 1990s, so it was really about highlighting and exposing his record and lifting up my social justice agenda,” Scott said.

As far as her campaign goals are concerned, Scott hopes to encourage more women and black people, especially among the youth, to step forward and take leadership roles in their community. She specifically plans to focus on issues such as juvenile justice reform and police violence to prevent situations like the unfortunate death of Gynna McMillen while in custody from happening.

“We totally flipped on its head,” Scott said. “I am the person serving in the seat but this is about us… and serving people who often feel marginalized, powerless, voiceless and who are oppressed. This is about the we.”

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Keith Reid-Cleveland is a proud product of Chicago's Southside and the Missouri School of Journalism. The Black Youth Project News Editor has written about politics, race and entertainment for multiple publications, such as Uproxx, The Undefeated, Black Nerd Problems, Comic Book Resources and more.

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